What words or phrases do you think should be avoided in front of a jury?

Think jurors know what you mean when you use the term the court? Think again, says Chicago-based jury and communications consultant Theresa Zagnoli of Zagnoli, McEvoy & Foley.

“In post-trial interviews with jurors who sat on a jury, they revealed that it took them three days to figure out that ‘the court’ and the judge on the bench were the same people,” Zagnoli says of one of her cases. Other words Zagnoli tells her lawyer clients not to use in front of jurors include subsequent, decedent and commence. That made us wonder what words or phrases you think should be avoided in front of a jury.

Posted by In-House Mama: “The corporation I work for has an on-site daycare. I get to see my three kids a lot more than most working moms who utilize day care. We have lunch together every day, and I even take them to dance classes and doctor’s appointments that are nearby. I still have working mommy guilt and it costs me more than $50K a year, but in my opinion it is about as close to ‘having it all’ as I can get.”

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